Life, As We Know It
by Lost In Rotation
Summary: Life is made up of good moments and bad. How we handle the bad defines the good. Companion story to Stranger Things, When Hell Freezes Over, and This Life We Have.
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: I'm currently looking for a beta reader for the remainder of this story. If anyone is interested, please PM me. Much obliged, and happy reading!_

"George," she cried in utter frustration, "you promised me you were going to do inventory over the weekend." Staring down the shelves upon shelves of items in the large storage room, her heart sank. As she took another step closer and continued to examine the task ahead, she let out an exaggerated sigh. "Things aren't even on the right shelves!" she yelled, in part so George could hear her from the front of the store and in part because she was entirely fed up.

"Yes, well," George said in an offhand manner that annoyed Ginny to no end, " _you_ promised to product test the latest Burping Bubbles Bubble Gum. So I'd say we are fair and square."

Spinning on her heels, Ginny yanked the door to the storage room shut behind her. Slamming it as hard as she could for dramatic flair, she set her sights on her brother and stomped across the store. A few customers lingered here and there, but they were wise enough to ignore the bickering between the owners. Most of their frequent patrons were used to it by now.

"That was before I ended up at St. Mungo's with my face precariously close to exploding because of the last version you'd concocted. Which," she placed heavy emphasis on the words, "I distinctly recall you saying you had worked the kinks out of."

George laughed at the memory, which only fueled Ginny's anger. "Relax," he said as she reached the front counter where he stood and slammed her hands down on it. "That husband of yours fixed you right up."

"I was in a coma for two days," she reminded him, which only made him laugh again.

"Oh, come on, Gin," he said, trying to smother his smile to avoid the glare she was aiming at him. "You are way too tense. You need to relax."

George!" she snapped again. "I can't relax because I am having to do everything you swore you would do this weekend."

"I was planning on doing it," he said earnestly. "But Luna had a staff party at The Quibbler and dragged me along, and..." he trailed off as he saw the look on her face. "And I will get to work on the inventory right now," he finished instead.

"And you," Ginny said, spinning around to face a pair of students still in their Hogwarts robes, "had better pay for those love potions you've got crammed in your pockets, or I swear you'll regret it."

As if on cue, George pointed to the sign hanging above his head that read 'Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes is not responsible for sticky fingers that become unstuck from their respective hands'. For fun, he wiggled his fingers as he returned them to his sides. "I do wish you'd stop warning them," he said with a sigh of disappointment. "Just once, I'd like to see our anti-theft charms in action. I can't remember if we ever fully tested the final product or not."

"We promised Malfoy we wouldn't," Ginny told him with a shake of her head, "after you ended up at St. Mungo's testing that one."

"Ahhhh, yes. We do keep him gainfully employed. But does he ever thank me? Not once, dear sister. Not a single time. I believe, in fact, he's expressed feelings of the exact opposite nature. Something along the lines of 'For the love of Merlin, please stop sending my wife to the hospital'. Ungrateful prick," he ribbed good naturedly. "He does love you so.

"And speaking of him," George said with a rise of his eyebrows as his eyes grew wider, "have you asked him about it yet? What did he say?"

"No," Ginny protested adamantly. "You are not going to sidetrack me to get out of doing inventory, George." To prove she was serious, she reached for the clipboard on the end of the counter. Dragging it across the surface of the counter, she placed it directly in front of him. "In-ven-tor-y," she said, stabbing the top piece of parchment with her index finger on each syllable.

Picking up the clipboard, George moved around the counter and started to move across the shop toward the storage room. He was not, however, done with the subject he'd brought up. "If you keep postponing asking him, you know as well as I do that he'll find some excuse to not be able to go that you won't be able to argue against."

"Please," Ginny replied with a scoff as she trailed behind George, fully intent on making sure he actually started on the inventory instead of goofing around in the back. Though thirty-two, when left to his own devices he acted closer to three-years-old more often than not. Ginny was still amazed they hadn't managed to burn the store to the ground yet, though they had come close more than once. "Malfoy has yet to come up with an excuse that could get him out of a single event he didn't want to go to. Give me some credit."

"You married Malfoy," George shot back, "so the amount of credit we afford you depends on how generous I'm feeling any particular day."

He was simply teasing and she knew it, but reoccurring comments such as this one still got beneath her skin. Though she didn't let it show and refused to mention the topic to her family, it bothered her that though they finally had accepted him as part of the family, she doubted they had ever truly accepted him for himself. She knew it would take a while, but she had hoped that they would eventually be able to look past the boy he had been to see the man he had become, the man she had married.

It was part of the reason she wanted to go so desperately. She wanted people to acknowledge him, and not just refer to him as the son of a Death Eater.

"Stop it," George said, slapping her arm gently with the back of the clipboard to jar her from her thoughts. "You're brooding. I hate it when you brood."

"Just thinking," she countered. "Anyway," she said, before he could pick her brain and analyze her thoughts, "I'll go man the front desk. If those sneaks do try to steal those potions, I'll holler when they're getting ready to leave so you can witness the spectacle."

"Much appreciated!" he called after her as she moved back to the front counter.

The kids were still milling about the store. As they saw Ginny return, they straightened themselves to their full heights, as if that could possibly impress her. Ginny smiled a wide grin, mentally daring them to go ahead and try to leave the store with something lifted in their pockets. She was churning over the conversation she knew she would have to have when she got home, and it would be a welcomed distraction to watch their fingers fall off as they walked out the door.


	2. Chapter 2

"Missus," Daisy said with a tug on her hem.

"Yes?" Ginny asked distractedly as she bounced a fussy Severus on her hip while trying to mend his broken toy with the wand in her other hand.

"Master messaged Missus. Master said he will be late from work. Master said do not worry about waiting for him."

Ginny sighed. It was as if he could sense that she had something she wanted to talk to him about that he knew he wouldn't like. She'd been trying to find a way to casually bring it up for over a week and after George's prodding at the shop, she'd determined she'd simply come right out and ask him. Or tell him, as the case may be. But he had to actually be present for her to do so, throwing a twist in her plans.

"Bollocks," she hissed, turning to the side instinctively to place herself as a pseudo shield between Severus and the green flame that had shot up from what remained of his toy. She must have gotten a swish interchanged with a flick while lost in her thoughts. It was the third toy Severus had lost that week in similar fashion.

Setting him down on the ground as he started to complain, Ginny extinguished the flame with a quick spell, making an effort to actually pay attention to the motion of her wand.

"Mama!" he cried, staring in stunned disbelief at what little remained of the toy dragon he'd been playing with.

"I told Charlie not to give you that dragon," she mumbled under her breath to no one in particular. It hadn't helped that it had become Severus's favorite toy, especially once he'd learned how to make it fly around the house by itself.

"Mama!" he wailed again, dragging out the last syllable.

"I know!" she snapped and instantly regretted it. It wasn't his fault the dragon had dropped to the ground like a sack of potatoes and proceeded to flop around as if having a seizure. She'd meant to repair the charm Charlie had put on it to make it fly, which had apparently started to wear off. Instead, she'd set it ablaze. Not some of her best work. She was only thankful none of her brothers had been present to witness it.

"I know," she tried again, her voice gentle and calm. Leaning over, she stroked her hand through his ginger locks as she kissed the top of his head. "I'm sorry, kiddo. Mama will fix it."

"Fix it now!" he demanded.

"Now you sound like your father," she laughed dryly as she studied the charred mess. It looked less like a dragon and more like what a dragon would spit out.

"Papa!" he exclaimed with delight at the mention of the word 'father'.

"He'll be home soon," Ginny assured their son, though she had no idea when he would make it back. The hospital had been severely understaffed as of late, and they'd been stretching his shifts longer and longer. Some nights, he never made it home, catching only an hour or two of sleep at the hospital in between emergencies.

During dinner the other night, Hermione had tentatively asked an exhausted Ginny if she worried that Draco might be having an affair. Ginny hadn't even had the energy to laugh at the thought. The thought had crossed her mind, but only for the briefest of moments. All it took was one look at him when he flooed home to see that he was, indeed, worked to the bone. Ginny struggled to juggle both Severus and the shop while Draco worked more and more at the hospital and she still looked like a well-rested witch in comparison to him.

Just the thought of how exhausted he would be when he got home made her start second guessing whether it would be a good time to bring up the trip. The date was looming ever closer, and yet she had the haunting suspicion that if she dropped it on him tonight after another double shift at work, his head might literally explode.

 _You're looking for excuses again_ , she chastised herself. In fact, she'd used the same exact excuse the past three nights. It was noticeably weighing on her, as the previous evening Draco had even asked what was bothering her so. But she'd lied, saying nothing, and instead had lead him into the shower where she'd massaged his aching shoulders under the steaming water until the knots had finally unwound and his shoulders had loosened their tension.

"Mama," Severus called, trying to reclaim her attention. Ginny cleared her throat, which turned into a cough of embarrassment at the derailment her thought process had taken at the mental image of Draco in the shower. "Fix it, please," he reminded her.

"Right," she said with a start, trying to wash her mind blank. "Of course, Sweetheart."


	3. Chapter 3

By the time Draco arrived home, Severus had long since crawled into his bed, exhausted Ginny's voice by demanding 'Just one more' bedtime story five times, and passed out. She had wanted to follow his lead and curl into her own bed, but she still hadn't managed to fix the toy dragon yet.

Draco popped in just as she successfully got the dragon to fly once more without freezing midflight and plummeting to the ground. The dragon looked a little worse for the wear, but it was zooming around the entrance hall as Draco swept in.

Ginny took one look at him and lost all train of thought on the toy. It would have been polite to call his hair disheveled. It was, more appropriately, a downright disaster. His robes were covered in burn marks, and he had a large red mark on one of his cheeks.

"Bloody hell," she whispered as she closed the gap between them. Catching his jaw in her hand, she loosened her touch as he winced. "What happened?" she asked, tilting his head down and to the side as she tried to get a better look at the wound.

"Nothing," he snapped, though it carried none of the usual fire or bite he would have used. Instead, the word was flat, his tone displaying his exhaustion.

She could think of nothing but to laugh. Clearly, 'nothing' was about as far from the truth as they could possibly get. "Have you tried-"

"I haven't tried anything yet," he said, pulling away and moving towards the kitchen. Ginny followed on his heels.

"I can take care of that-"

"It's fine," he told her promptly, interjecting once more. "It's been a long day. I want to eat, shower, and go to bed. I have to be at the hospital early tomorrow."

"What happened?" she asked again, concern lining her words.

"I'm not at liberty to discuss," he said curtly. She highly doubted the case was such, especially since most of the time he told her without reservation. Then he stopped, suddenly, and turned on his heel to face her. Catching her shoulders, she thought for a moment he might sag against her. He stood erect, but his hands squeezed her shoulders for reassurance. "It was bad," he confessed. "Extremely bad. One of the worst I've seen."

Once he started to open up, she knew better than to interrupt. If she tried to say something now, he would clam up again, and she wouldn't get any further details out of him. She wanted him to share as much as possible, as she worried about his mental health when he kept it all locked inside.

He continued, "It was a kid. A young kid, barely older than Severus. No one knew for certain what was ailing him. We tried everything we could, attempted every possible cure. But we lost him. And we still don't even know what caused it."

If it had been anyone else, she would have cajoled them. Lacing her words with sympathy, she would have said how sorry she was to hear it, and how she couldn't imagine what his day must have been like. But Ginny had learned over the years that a different approach was needed with Draco. He would take no comfort in words. They would do nothing to ease his guilt and frustration.

Instead, she pulled him to her, mindful of his cheek. It started simply as a kiss, her lips pressed firmly against his. He deepened it almost instantly, his tongue diving into her mouth as her head tilted back. Hands moved from her shoulders to her waist, and he lifted her effortlessly off the guard, turning as he did so.

Even through her layers of clothes the stone wall felt cold against her back. As his hands moved to fumble with her clothes, she followed suit. He'd been so wrapped up in his work lately that she honestly couldn't remember the last time they had taken a moment alone. It was so little, but she took it where and when she could. After all, between Severus and the shop she wasn't one to judge.

It ended almost as quickly as it started. Ginny was left gasping for breath as he finally gave into the pressure of everything in his life. His head slumped against her shoulder, but she could tell it was not in the usual post-coital manner. His head remained, even as he readjusted his pants and she pulled hers back up. His hands curled into fists against the wall on either side of her head. His breathing was labored, and each intake and exhale was harder to manage than its predecessor.

"Malfoy," she said softly as she turned her head into his and gently kissed his neck.

That simple gesture broke him. All sense of self control evaporated in an instant, and he dissolved against her. Witnessing this type of display from him for the first time, her body froze up. It took her a moment before she could sort out her arms. Wrapping them around him, she pulled him in tight. He shook against her and she yearned to comfort him, but still she did not speak a word.

They stayed like that for some time, until Daisy appeared hesitantly in the long hallway. She looked up at Ginny, but was too afraid to speak a word.

"Yes?" Ginny asked. Though her attention turned to the house elf, she continued to lightly stroke her fingers up and down Malfoy's back.

"Daisy has warmed up food for Master. Daisy heard him come home and Daisy thought he would be hungry."

Ginny nodded, "Thank you, Daisy."

With a quick nod of her own and a small curtsy, Daisy scurried off down the hallway and disappeared once more.

"Come," Ginny said as she pushed herself away from the wall. Placing a kiss on his earlobe, she turned him to the kitchen, "The house elf is right. You need to eat."


	4. Chapter 4

"What?" he asked as she stared up at the darkness of the canopy.

"I didn't say anything," she whispered back.

"You don't have to. I can practically hear your brain churning from over here. What is it that has you so preoccupied you can't sleep?" he tried again.

"Nothing that cannot wait until the morning. You need to get some sleep." Reaching through the darkness, her hand found his arm. She trailed her fingers down it as far as she could reach, stopping at his elbow. Her thumb drew small circles around the curve of his arm.

"So do you. Out with it, Weasley," he insisted. She could practically hear his sigh, and she hadn't even broached the topic yet. It was the worst possible timing, and yet she was hardly going to get a better opening to bring it up than the one he'd just demanded.

"It really isn't a good time," she confessed, owning up to her fear. The last thing she wanted was a fight. She hardly saw him anymore and when she did, he was so stressed out from work that the smallest thing seemed to set him off. As it was, they already spent half their time fighting. It certainly hadn't been a good day by any means, but it hadn't been a particularly bad one, either, and she didn't want to ruin it now.

"There's never a good time," he said with another heavy sigh. She felt, rather than heard, him shifting in the bed, "But now I'm alert and won't be able to sleep either until you tell me what's bothering you. So out with it already so we can both get some sleep before I have to be up again."

Ginny refused to roll to face him. Instead, she continued to stare at the canopy as she turned the idea over and over in her head. Finally she said, "You need a break from work. And I thought we could go on a trip. Just the two of us. Mum has offered to watch Severus for us."

"Just the two of us?" He scoffed aloud. "I didn't realize that was even possible anymore."

"That's my point. We haven't been on a trip since Severus was born. And you need a little time off from work before you come completely unwound. You need a break. We need a break."

"Mmm, and this doesn't have anything to do with the reunion coming up in two weeks?" he asked.

Her stomach dropped. How did he know about the reunion? She knew for a fact that he was no longer in touch with any of his colleagues, and her family and friends had sworn up and down that they wouldn't even mention it in passing until she'd had a chance to discuss it with him.

"Don't make yourself sick trying to figure out who told me first," he said with another heavy sigh. It seemed the only sound he was capable of making these days. "You seem to forget that I went there too. My owl came the day before yours. I'm rather surprised you got an invite yourself."

Ginny's temper flared at his insinuation, but she bit her tongue. Lashing out at him now was the worst possible method of getting what she wanted. If she had any chance of convincing him to go, it was by playing sweet. And slightly stupid. "Of course your own came. I just wasn't sure if you'd even had a chance to look at it yet. You've hardly been home in ages, and it's not like you sit around reading the post when you do make it back."

"I'm going to save us both some time and headache, Weasley. The answer is no. And, just so that we're clear, spending a weekend in that place with those people is not what I would classify as spending some time alone."

"We wouldn't have to spend all the time with the others," she protested. "Granted, there are a few scheduled events throughout the weekend, but most of the time is left open. And it's such a big place that even if there is a substantial turn out, there will be plenty of places to find some privacy."

"The answer's still no." She felt him shift again, this time turning his back to her as he pulled the covers up. It was a defensive move he resorted to, trying to put literal space between them during an argument.

"Malfoy-"

"I swear on my wand, Weasley-"

"Just hear me out-"

"No," he snapped as he shot up in bed and turned to face her. Even in the darkness, she could read the irritation and anger in his face, "You listen to me. In what planet are you living on right now? In what universe would you ever think I would want to go back to that place?"

"You loved it there," she protested. "I cannot count the number of times you have bragged about how many different girls you shagged while you were there."

"Be that as it may, that is not my point. My point is that we've grown a lot since we were last there. I, for one, would like to think I've grown for the better. So I'm not exactly thrilled about the idea of going back and reliving what I was like back then."

"I wouldn't want to relive what you were like either," Ginny agreed. "You were a major prat. But that's not the point. Just stepping foot in the place is not going to suddenly change your personality. You aren't going to magically morph back into a former version of yourself."

"You are missing the point."

"You haven't made your point!" As hard as she tried to remain level headed, her Weasley temperament was not behaving.

"If I can get time off from work, which is highly unlikely, but if I could, do you really think I'm going to spend it around a bunch of people who are going to ostracize me? You think my ideal weekend off from work is being around a bunch of people who are going to judge me and remind me of what an asshole I was? I'll let you in on a little secret, Weasley. It's not."

"You really think that much of yourself, eh?" It was entirely the wrong route to take, but he had an innate way of pushing her buttons just so. "You really think that these people who haven't seen each other in over a decade are going to have nothing better to do than sit around and gossip about you? Get over yourself."

His hand caught her arm in the dark as he moved wordlessly towards her. He was on her within a second, his body pressing hers into the mattress. "No," she snapped, shoving him back to his side of the bed. "No," she repeated adamantly, as much to herself as to him. "This is not one of those arguments, Malfoy. You don't just get to push it off and ignore it. Apart from Harry and Hermione and Luna, I haven't seen any of my friends in ages. I want to go back. To see everyone and to play a scrummage game of Quidditch. I want to get out of this house and away from the joke shop. And, strike me down for even saying this, but I want a few days off from Severus.

"I'm exhausted. You're exhausted. It'll be good for us."

"I know you have this mindset where you believe that if you just keep talking, I'll suddenly change my mind. But the answer is still no. And the answer is still going to be no, no matter how many times you ask. So just give it a rest. I'm not in the mood."

"You stay here, then. Mum's already going to have James and Roxanne, so she'll take Severus for the weekend regardless. I'll go to the reunion, and you can mope around this bloody manor all you want, alone."

"Dammit-"

"Oh, no. Don't you 'dammit' me," she snapped as she shoved the duvet away and climbed out of the massive bed.

"Where are you going?" he demanded, snatching his wand from his nightstand. "Lumos," he said, catching her silhouette as she pulled her robe up her slender shoulders and wrapped it around her.

"I am going to go sleep in one of the other hundred beds in this bloody house tonight," she yelled back at him. She tried so hard not to raise her voice. Not for her sake or for his, but to keep from waking Severus, who slept only two doors down the hallway.

He scrambled out of the bed as well, foregoing his robe as he stalked across the room after her. She'd already reached the door and was turning the handle when he caught her wrist and pulled her hand away. "You don't get to leave."

"If I stay, then you're leaving. Take your pick."

"Dammit, Ginny!" He slammed the fist not holding his wand against the door by her head.

"What? What?" she practically screamed it the second time.

"Every bloody night it's like this. Why?"

"Because this is our life now!" she said with almost a delirious laugh. "I burn myself out at the shop, and then come home to a demanding three-year-old that breaks everything he touches. And you work yourself sick at the hospital and come home pissed at the world. We don't have the energy left to do anything but fight."

"I'm tired of it. All of it."

"Really?" she asked, the word dripping with sarcasm. "Because I'm having a hell of a good time with it."

They stared each other down in the shadows casted from the light at the tip of his wand. He looked ghostly with his pale blond hair, and she looked like a girl set ablaze with anger. "I don't know how to do this anymore," she told him, her voice barely a whisper now. "You only seek me out for comfort, and I'm tired of being used. I want to be _wanted_. You don't even see me anymore. You don't see anything."

"Can we not do this tonight?" he asked wearily. It always came back to the same six words.

Ginny laughed softly, somewhat hysterically, as she lifted her hand to wipe the tears from her eyes. Taking in a jagged breath, she moved her hand to his cheek, her wet thumb brushing his soft, pale skin. "Good night, Malfoy," she said with a resigned kiss. Then her hand returned to the handle, and she slipped out the door almost silently. And all he could do was stand there, frozen, thinking that her 'good night' had sounded an awful lot like 'good-bye'.


	5. Chapter 5

When Draco appeared in the doorway of Severus's playroom at his normally scheduled quitting time, Ginny about fell over from shock. She'd slept terribly, barely catching an hour of sleep, two at the most, and when she'd dragged herself miserably from one of the guest rooms to apologize, he'd already left for work. As he stood slumped against the door frame, almost for support as if he would collapse from exhaustion, Ginny thought about apologizing then and there. But her stupid, silly pride reared its ugly head. "Dinner will be ready in a few minutes," she told him instead, relaying the message Daisy had brought up only a few minutes before.

Draco answered with a curt nod. "I'll go shower and change."

They reconvened in the dining room, Draco appearing just as Ginny settled Severus into his high chair, much to his protest. They had attempted on several occasions to let him sit at the table 'with the grown-ups' but each attempt had managed to be worse than its predecessor. So despite her son's wailing in resent, Ginny got him settled in, using a silent charm to help root him in place after the climb, grope, and fall incident from a few weeks past.

With Severus seated at the end of the table, Ginny took the seat to his left, and Draco took his place on her other side. The table stretched on down the room, seemingly endless, but they hadn't even attempted to fill it since the wedding. While Daisy brought the plates to the table, they both reflected on just how massive the Malfoy Manor was. It was wasted, really, on the three of them. But it had been put to far worse uses in the past so they stayed, as if to prove that it would never be used in such a way again.

Ginny thought about inquiring as to how his day went, but one look at him told her it had been dreadful, so she held her tongue. The pair ate in miserable silence, Ginny pushing her food around her plate more often than consuming it.

Severus, oblivious to the tension at the table next to him, chattered endlessly about the broomstick he wanted for his birthday. "Pleaseeeeee, Papa. Please, please, please, can I have one? I want one! You have one! I neeeeed it."

"Ask your mother," was all he said.

Again, Ginny bit her tongue. Why was it always left up to her to make these kinds of decisions? Why did she always have to be the villain, telling their son he couldn't have what he neeeeeeded. "We'll see," she answered vaguely. "Eat your squash." She was aware of the irony of how much she'd hated her own parents' similar responses when she was young.

"Gross!" Severus exclaimed, making a show of picking up a handful and pitching it to the floor. Ginny's hand tightened around her fork as she forced herself to count to five - a trick she'd learned from Hermione, who had about lost her mind by the time James reached his terrible two's phase. Unfortunately, Severus was taking longer to plateau on the other side of his.

Daisy scurried to pick up the discarded food before anyone could ask, and Ginny thanked her lucky stars for the house elf. She didn't know what she would have done without Daisy's help.

Severus continued to prattle on, but most of what came out of his mouth was a monologue intended for no one in particular. Half of it Ginny tuned out. The other half barely made a lick of sense. She would have to get him out socializing with kids his own age again, as soon as his ban was officially lifted.

Silence befell them again until Draco was picking at the last of his meal and could take the quiet no longer. He kept waiting for her to broach a subject. Something, again, so he could gauge where she was at both mentally and emotionally. But she'd barely spoken a word to him, even after he'd pulled a serious number of strings and made more than a few threats at work in order to get home on time. His eye twitched in irritation.

"I asked the ward supervisor for the weekend after next off," he finally said, having to raise his voice to be heard over Severus's non-stop incessant talking. Unfortunately it appeared that, so far, Severus had picked up both of his parents' annoying traits instead of their favorable ones as hoped. Ginny kept swearing up and down that Hermione insisted that their son had gone through the exact same thing, but had calmed down soon after. Draco ventured her infuriatingly saintly like kid had never spoken a word in his life, and that she'd only read about this type of behavior with her bushy head shoved in a book.

His comment did not elicit the reaction he was hoping for, which only grated on his nerves further. He had realized, as she'd made her big production of storming out of the bedroom the previous night, that he had to do something. He'd stayed up all night, tossing and turning and contemplating the possibilities. At each turn, it pointed to the same, hopeless option that he dreaded. And yet, when he'd finally given up on sleep entirely, resigned to the fact, he's gone into work and asked for, or really demanded, the weekend in question off. In all his years at St. Mungo's, he'd never dared such a thing, which was probably why they agreed and spent the day reworking schedules.

Running on a high of exhilaration, he'd taken it a step further. He'd demanded something be done about the staffing. He wasn't the only one in the department dead on his feet half the day, and it was beginning to show. They were working on it, they assured him, though he'd believe that when he saw it.

"I hope you'll be able to enjoy the peace and quiet," she finally acknowledged him.

Was she really that dense? Was she going to make him spell it out for her? Did she truly not understand, or was she making this whole ordeal as insufferable as possible for him in retribution? He almost gave into the challenge rising within him. He'd gone out of his way, bent over backwards, to do what she'd asked, and now she wanted to act indifferent. He had half the mind to throw down his spoon and head straight back to work, where his efforts were at least appreciated.

But then he remembered the look on her face the previous night. He remembered the tears in her eyes. And Ginny Malfoy nee Weasley never cried. Not when Severus dive bombed her head with his ridiculous toy dragon, not when her mother made her go shopping with her sister-in-laws during the holidays, and not even when Looney Lovegood went off on one of her asinine tangents that made no sense to anyone with half a brain. She screamed and hexed and cursed at him, quite frequently at that, but she didn't cry. He remembered that now as he sat at the table, and his hold on the spoon loosened.

"I doubt there's going to be any peace and quiet at the reunion. Children may be banned, but most of those gits don't know how to shut their mouths for a single second. I will not be boarding that train until I have a cauldron's worth of head potions packed." There was no earthly way she could misinterpret that. Yet still, she said nothing. Draco gave up, stabbing the last of his squash so hard the fork grated against the fine china.

Ginny didn't speak. She didn't know what to say. Part of her thought it was a ruse, retaliation for her demeanor the previous night. But even Draco wasn't that cruel. At least, not anymore. And so she finally let herself believe it. That she had won this small battle. That there was still some give in their relationship. That he was home at a decent hour and wasn't planning on heading directly back to work after dinner.

Perhaps all was not lost. Maybe it was just a phase, the phase that followed after the honeymoon phase that ended abruptly at the arrival of a child. Her eyes darted over to Severus, who had finally stopped talking long enough to swallow a few bites of food. Fuel to feed the next installment of his half formulated rants to get a racing broomstick, the one Draco had brought him the week his was born that was hidden somewhere in the house until they thought he'd be old enough to ride.

Now stunned into speechlessness, Ginny reached under the table. Resting her hand on his knee, she gave it a gentle squeeze, hoping it could convey every thought racing through her mind at the moment. It was impossible, she realized, as she couldn't even understand half of what she was feeling. Her hand remained there for a long moment before she returned to picking at her food.

He soon returned the favor. When his hand touched her knee, it did not stop. Sliding up her leg, his long, dexterous fingers only stilled once they reached the inside of her upper thigh. Even through the fabric of her pants, it was almost too much. Eyes fluttering shut, her spoon clattered to the plate. And in a way only Malfoy would, he took that as a sign to resume movement of his flexible digits.

She gasped aloud in surprise, her knee jerking involuntarily. He hadn't attempted such an act since the last great Weasley holiday gathering. Then, it had been a game of torture, to see which one of them would crack the mask in public first. There was no teasing, no game behind the way his fingers gently ran up and down the inside of her thigh now. It was a promise of something much more real and desperate.

"Mama, what's wrong?" Severus asked.

Ginny's eyes snapped open and her hands reached to clutch the edge of the table as Draco's hand pulled away, as if caught. "N-nothing," she stumbled over the word, flushed and embarrassed and yet strangely aroused. Shame surged through her at the thought.

"Ok," Severus said, as if it was all the explanation he needed. Then he tried to repeat a joke Roxanne had told him, but he could only remember half the words and the punch line never came. He got distracted about halfway through and bailed out of it completely.

Ginny couldn't help but glance over at Draco. She half expected his hand to return, but then realized he was probably just as embarrassed and ashamed as she was. Still, as she cast a sideways glance, she found him looking back from the corner of his eye. His face did not reveal any emotion, and yet Ginny's stomach flipped with anticipation.


	6. Chapter 6

Draco offered to get Severus ready for bed while Ginny helped clear the table and do the dishes. Daisy was insulted by the offer to help. "Missus does not think Daisy does a good job? Missus upset with Daisy's work?"

"No. Of course not, Daisy," Ginny said kindly. "I only wanted to show our appreciation for all that you do around the house. I thought you might enjoy a night off from work."

"Oh, no!" Daisy squeaked as she reached up to snatch the dirty plate out of Ginny's hands. Ginny half expected the house elf to hold it protectively to her chest. "Daisy would not know what to do. Daisy loves her work. Daisy does not want to bother her Missus."

"Daisy, it's no trouble," Ginny insisted, returning to the table to take the dirty plate from Severus's spot. Daisy squeaked once more as Ginny picked it up. Before Ginny could take a step in the direction of the kitchen, Daisy was by her side, frantically trying to grab the plate out of her hand once more.

"Missus!" Daisy exclaimed, aghast. "Please let Daisy do her work. Missus should be spending time with Master and little Master. Daisy does not need Missus's help. Daisy does not want Missus's help." She said this last line with more gusto than her previous attempts.

Ginny almost laughed as her brain recalled the word S.P.E.W. Oh, she had a story to tell Hermione the next time she saw her. "Thank you, Daisy," she said, surrendering the plate before it could be knocked accidentally from her hands. She hoped the three words conveyed all she felt.

When Ginny joined Draco and Severus shortly thereafter, they were already deep into a story. She paused in the open doorway, taking in the sight. She couldn't remember the last time Draco had been home before Severus went to sleep. It had been ages, and she had missed the sight before her now. While Ginny tried her best, she would never be the kind of storyteller Draco was. He had different voices for every single character, and he exaggerated every line, much to Severus's delight. He even added motions and, on special occasions, magic.

They were reading Severus's favorite book, Stumpy the Red-Tailed Dragon. Ginny had found an old Muggle version among her father's gadgets in the Weasley house. While the Muggle versions took much more work than their magical counterparts that did everything but read the narration for you, and for a price some of them even did that, they were so much more fun with Severus. He laid in bed, snuggled in the crook of his father's arm, held in awe and fascination as Draco told him the story for the hundredth time.

Though Draco cursed everything Muggle, Ginny knew he enjoyed these books more as well. It made him a superhero in his son's eyes. As she took in the sight from the doorway, she knew that he'd already accomplished what he'd hoped to do. He was already a better father than his own could have ever hoped to be. He'd already made up for the sins of his past through his heir, even if Severus got into more than his own fair share of trouble himself. It was a sight that filled her heart with warmth and hope. Maybe better days did lie ahead. Maybe every road did not lead to fights and angry words each night. Maybe there was a way to fix everything that had gone sideways as of late. Maybe they'd already started.

"Mama!" Severus said with excitement, causing Draco to pause midsentence. It was important, when Severus broke through the storytelling. It was, in fact, the only portion of his day where he sat completely still and silent. He became part of the story, and he never ruined it with his inability to focus on a single train of thought. During story time, his only role was to listen. "Mama!" he called again, impatiently. "Come on! Papa's waiting!"

"Okay, okay," she said with a smile as she entered the room. Severus kicked down the sheets to let her in, and she sandwiched herself into what little space remained in the over occupied bed. Draco shifted his arm from around Severus as she joined them to prevent it from getting pinned between them. As she settled in on Severus's other side, Draco's arm wrapped around her shoulders.

"Now where were we?" Draco asked Severus while he looked to his wife. She smiled again as she leaned into her son and rested her cheek on the top of his head.

"The dragon just escaped his chains!" Severus said, his words rushing together with excitement as he pointed to the picture above the text.

"Ah, yes," Draco said, his voice already altering into his narrator's persona. Ginny snuggled in, just as transfixed by Draco's reading as her son was. The story was almost over, but story time was not. As soon as he turned the final page and closed the book, Severus scrambled to crawl out of the bed from between them.

"Another!" he yelled as he raced around the room and began shuffling through the various shelves of his overflowing bookcases.

"One more," Draco conceded.

"Five!" Severus countered, already pulling his third selection from the shelves.

"One," Draco repeated.

"Ten!" Severus insisted instead.

Draco turned to give Ginny a look.

"What?" she laughed, leaning her head against his arm as she faced him. "He gets that from you."

"One!" Draco said again towards his son's back as Severus frantically scanned the shelves for yet another book. Turning his attention to Ginny, he added in a softer voice, "No, that is definitely a Weasley trait, through and through."

"Mama!" Severus complained in exasperation, collecting his books in his arms and shuffling back to the bed. He had to dump them on the mattress before he could clamber his way back up.

"If your father says one, than it's one."

It was, however, five as Severus first predicted. At the end of every book, Draco announced bed time. And after bed time was announced, Severus managed to finagle his way into getting another story read. By the end of the fifth, he was fast asleep, droll already pooling in the corner of his mouth.

"Ungrateful prat," Draco complained as he slowly and methodically tried to untangle himself without stirring his son. "Throws a huge tantrum for book five and then doesn't even have the decency to stay awake until the end."

Ginny returned the look he'd given her earlier.

"Oh, I do not!" he whispered loudly in protest of her judgmental glance as she began a similar process of sliding out of the bed. Once free, Draco readjusted the sheets and pulled them up to his son's chest. He hand hovered for a moment, pressed lightly into his small chest, feeling the gentle and steady heartbeat beneath.

"Come on," Ginny whispered. After placing the books on the nightstand, she gently took his other hand in hers and guided him toward the door. Flicking off the light, she pulled him into the hall and quietly shut the door.

As it shut, Draco rested his forehead against it. "I've missed a lot lately," he said somberly. "Everything. He's growing up faster than possible." Turning his head, he faced her. "Are you sure George hasn't been slipping him an aging potion when you aren't looking at the shop?"

"He's still young. And he has a lot ahead of him. You'll be there," she said firmly, wanting so desperately to believe it true. "You'll see it, just like tonight." Her hand found his cheek. He pulled away from the door to lean into her touch. "Thank you," she told him sincerely.

"It wasn't anything," he said, brushing it off, though she knew he knew she wasn't just talking about the books.

Catching his face between both hands, she drew him closer. Her eyes searched his, and she found him staring back into the pools of her own. "Thank you," she told him again, emphasizing each word strongly.

"Missus," the squeak and the tug at her pants leg startled her. She had not heard Daisy approaching at all. "Would you and Master care for evening tea?"

"Not now," they spoke in unison, their eyes never straying from each other. He didn't wait to see if the house elf left or not. In one fluid motion, he lifted her effortlessly. Her legs wrapped around his waist as he strode purposefully the few doors down the hallway to their bedroom. By the time he lowered her back onto the bed, they were a frenzied mess of limbs and joints.

She caught his lip and dragged her teeth down it, biting as she reached the curve at the end. He grunted in response, his cold hands shoving up beneath the fabric of her shirt and trying in vain to drag her bra down without removing her shirt.

She couldn't help but laugh against him at his sudden impatience. The previous night have been quick and almost emotionless. It had been an action to fulfill a need and fill a void. There had been no passion or lust, no buildup to the climax. It simply had been. But this was different. Ginny felt herself awoken for the first time in ages, and feelings registered that she had almost forgotten. As he pulled away to tear at her shirt, his blond locks falling across his face, she could tell that he was looking at her and not just through her. He was there, in the moment, with her.

"Relax," she said with a laugh. Arching her back, she lifted herself up from her midsection to her head to give him the space needed to pull her shirt up over her head instead of trying to ripe it off in place. He discarded the garment quickly, then turned his attention directly to her pants. She caught his hands and pulled him down to her, stretching her hands out over her head and tangling her fingers with his.

"Weasley," he protested, elongating the word with a whine befitting his son as he buried his head against her neck and bit at the soft skin in retribution for his lip.

And then, just like that, they found the rhythm they'd been missing for the past few months. And as the desire built within her, Ginny couldn't help but believe that they would find their way back to that place; the one where they belonged.


End file.
